


odette, odile, and the prince

by skai_heda



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Barbie of Swan Lake (2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Swan Lake Fusion, Angst, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Strangers to Lovers, royalty! zuko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-12 07:21:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29006745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skai_heda/pseuds/skai_heda
Summary: the prince dances with a girl under the moonlight, with a voice sweeter than a swan's song, as the black swan watches from a distance.
Relationships: Katara & Mai (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	odette, odile, and the prince

**Author's Note:**

> guys do NOT make fun of me you know barbie of swan lake is a cinematic masterpiece

If there is something Mai likes about the mornings, it's the silence. Before her dear cousins are awake to be perfect and occasionally irritating, before her uncle gets ready for work, before the small village is awake and bustling, ridiculously happy.

_I used to have so much more,_ Mai thinks bitterly, slipping into her plain black dress and quietly reaching for the plain black dance shoes she keeps under her bed. Her parents had been the Duke and Duchess, you see, up until they had died five years ago and Mai's younger brother had disappeared. Probably dead, too. So here she is, leaving a life of luxury and being left alone to be living in a village with her two cousins, with flower fields and happy people and no one left to love her.

Katara and Sokka try. So does Hakoda, she supposes. But Mai does not like to be loved. She did not even like to be loved by her own parents, and they often didn't try, which is why she preferred them. They gave her everything, but there was no warmth. And Mai hates warmth.

Sokka is funny, she'll give him that. Humor is the only thing that ties them together sometimes, the only thing that shows that they are family in some way. Mai doesn't even look like them—they might as well be complete strangers for all she knows.

Mai has reached a good point with Hakoda. He doesn't try to be her father, and she doesn't try to be his daughter, but she respects him for taking care of her, and he respects her for not causing too many problems. Mai can tell he wants her to be closer with Katara and Sokka, but there's really nothing much she can do about that.

Katara is different. Katara has this inherent kindness, this perfect imperfection, the true beauty and authenticity of a genuinely good person that Mai just hates. She tries to love Mai, she really does, and it's awful. Katara is just better, and Mai hates it.

_(part of her wants to love. part of her wants to love and be loved, feel some warmth for once.)_

Katara dances, too. Mai secretly thinks that Katara will never be as good as her, and it's one of the few things that give her comfort. Either way, it will all be over in almost a year, when Mai finally turns eighteen and gets out of here, reclaims the titles her parents left behind and sink back into her life of royalty and luxury.

The sun has not quite risen above the mountains in the distance by the time Mai makes her way to her favorite field, but the sky is brightening still. Soon the sun will rise above the peaks and turn the pale, watery blue sky into violent shades of orange and gold. It is beautiful here, she has to admit. She hates this place with all her heart, but sometimes she thinks it is the only thing she has ever loved. The black dancing shoes, the field, and the sun. 

_(she wants to understand love. she wants to understand a life beyond her hatred, the bitter and cold emptiness that she cultivated so carefully all these years. Mai wants to know that love is real, and that she can love. she just needs to know that she can love something other than herself, something other than the dance, something other than anger.)_

She slips on the shoes carefully, noticing how worn they are. Mai will have to get new shoes soon, go down into that lovely shop in the village owned by Ty Lee and her family.

_Ty Lee._ Mai's lips form an involuntary smile at the thought of Ty Lee, her closest friend. Ty Lee, so different from Mai herself, yet so vital to the small bits of pure happiness Mai finds in this life she lives.

_Ty Lee._ Mai tries to drive her from her mind as she assumes position, body arching gracefully. She should be stretching first, she knows that, but her brain longs for the satisfaction and peace of the dance itself.

She knows the shoes are dead from the landing of her first _tour en l'air,_ pain shooting through her shins, aches forming in her knees. Mai has danced on dead shoes before, but it never hurt as much as it does now, and she feels herself going breathless from the discomfort. But she always finishes a dance, no matter what happens.

_Pas de deux._ Mai has conjured up a dance for two in her mind, and she dances both parts. She becomes two people, to the best of her ability, the rapid position changes sending her nearly flying across the field. The moves make themselves up as she goes, and she _will_ finish the dance, she has to—

Mai lands, bringing her feet back into a resting position, and she slumps ungracefully against the nearest tree, her heart pounding. It feels almost as though someone is watching her, but the suspicion is not strong enough for Mai to investigate it.

She changes her shoes slowly and silently, eyeing the dents in the grass left by her feet, grass that always manages to be greener every day.

Her skin prickles, and an unfamiliar sense of unease settles low in her gut, though she cannot quite understand why. Perhaps it is the unexpected pain of today's dancing, she tells herself as she sets off back towards the village, directly towards Ty Lee's store. Mai can't possibly expect to dance on these shoes again.

* * *

Katara's room is filled with sunlight when she wakes, and Mai's bed is empty as always. 

She can hear Sokka moving about downstairs, and Katara gets ready for the day quickly and efficiently. She reaches for her pale blue dancing shoes, brushing her fingers over the familiar material. 

There's a knock at the door, bringing her out of her trance. "Come in."

Sokka opens the door. "Dad's out training the village guards today, so he won't be home until late at night."

"Alright," Katara murmurs. "Would you happen to know where Mai is?"

Sokka shrugs. "Her note just said she'd be out. Didn't specify how long, though."

Katara laughs softly. "You'd think she'd actually start to tolerate us after five years."

"She's leaving in a year, anyway. Maybe she doesn't want to get attached."

"She's attached to you," Katara says, feeling an unnecessary bout of jealousy towards her brother for getting along with their cousin as well as he does.

"Everyone's attached to me," Sokka replies, wiggling his eyes suggestively.

Katara throws her pillow at him before sighing. "Okay, well, I'll go out into the village and see if I can found her."

"Doubt she wants to be found," Sokka says as she pushes past him. "But good luck anyway."

Katara steps out into the spring warmth, picking up the hem of her blue dress as she ascends the stairs leading to the main path to the village. The various scents of food and flowers and the nearby forest is a lovely and familiar combination, and she doesn't even mind the slight chill in the air that comes with spring mornings. She closes her eyes and sighs, opening her eyes only when a warm body collides with hers.

"You _stupid_ girl," Katara hears a feminine, cold and commanding voice say, and suddenly finds herself staring at bright gold eyes. 

"Crown Prince Zuko—" she starts.

"It was my fault, Azula," the prince says to the girl standing next to him, the source of the voice. Princess Azula, in her clothes of royal red and her silky hair, glares at Katara as if she wants to set her on fire. "I ran into her. Are you alright?"

A sudden flash of irritation heats Katara's blood. These stupid royals, thinking they can do whatever they want, whenever they want— "Of course," she replies coldly. "Apologies for the disturbance."

Azula sneers. "Picking up on a little bit of disrespect here."

"I mean no disrespect to the royal family," Katara says immediately, cursing herself for how complacent and kind she sounds. "Have a lovely day."

The prince is still staring at her. "What's your—"

"I told you I didn't want to come, Zuzu," Azula sighs, and the prince whirls around with an expression of disbelief. "Well, this wasn't my idea!" he protests, and the two siblings float away from Katara, arguing amongst themselves.

Katara represses a shudder, suddenly feeling even colder now. The symbol of the royal family is a burning flame, but she has never met icier people.

The prince, perhaps, did not seem as cold as his sister. But Katara knows nothing about them, and she's not in the business of making kind assumptions about them. She's hated the royal family with all her heart after they let her mother and her legion in the war die all those years ago.

A war long resolved, a war both of her parents had fought in. A war that only her father had survived, a war where Katara and Sokka were the only pieces of Kya left behind.

_You can't blame them all,_ a part of her thinks. _You shouldn't._

The smarter part of her says that they're all the same, anyway.

* * *

Mai opens the door tentatively, her dance shoes clutched in one hand. The shop appears to be empty, and she's about to leave when she hears movement in the back. And then Mai feels slender yet surprisingly strong arms wrap around her, and experiences the same mix of relief and discomfort she always does. Of course Ty Lee had to be a hugger.

"I'm so glad you're here!" Ty Lee says, pulling back with a grin. Her soft brown hair is left unbound today, and Mai cannot recall ever seeing it like this. It makes her throat feel weirdly dry. 

"I come here a lot," Mai answers impassively.

"Yes, but you're staying for a long time today. Don't think I haven't noticed these," Ty Lee says, grabbing the dance shoes. "Hmm. Black is a nice color, but you should change it every once in a while. Try pink or blue!"

"No, thank you," Mai murmurs, suppressing a smile.

"Ah, I should've known. Not like I can ever change your mind about anything," she replies with a shrug before tilting her head down to look at Mai's feet. "Oh, Mai! What happened?"

"What do you mean, _what happened?"_ Mai asks defensively.

Ty Lee rolls her eyes. "Sit down, Mai."

Mai groans and takes a seat. "What?"

"Have you _looked_ at your feet?" Ty Lee asks in disbelief, kneeling in front of her. Her soft hands hover around Mai's shins, and she almost flinches. "Ugh. Wait here while I go get some bandages."

_"Bandages?_ I—"

Mai looks down and sees purple and blue and green bruises blooming on the pale skin of her lower legs, bruises that continue onto her feet as Mai takes her regular shoes off. 

Ty Lee returns, throwing an accusing glare at Mai's old, worn shoes. 

"What are bandages going to do for bruises?" she asks impatiently.

Ty Lee looks up at her, then shrugs. "I don't know. I'm not a healer."

_"Ty Lee—"_

"I don't even know how this happened," she mutters, wrapping the bandages around Mai's legs. "Dancing on dead shoes _hurts,_ obviously, but it's not supposed to bruise you like that." She looks back at the shoes. "Maybe the shoes are cursed."

"You and your stories," Mai mumbles with a laugh.

"Yeah, me and my stories. When have I _ever_ been wrong, Mai? Don't answer that," Ty Lee adds. "You push yourself too much, Mai. You shouldn't dance for a bit."

"No," Mai replies sharply.

"Please?"

"Okay. I'll think about it."

Ty Lee finishes bandaging one leg and moves on to the other. The door opens, and a regal looking girl about Mai's age steps in, looking distinctly dissastisfied. But she changes her expression to look polite, and Ty Lee stands to face her. 

"Princess Azula!" she says in surprise, and Ty Lee starts to rapidly tap one finger against the roll of bandages she holds. She's _nervous,_ Mai realizes.

"Just Azula." Azula's voice is kind, but there's no warmth behind her startlingly golden eyes. "My, it has been _years_ since I came to this shop."

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Ty Lee says brightly, putting the bandages down and reaching for Mai's old shoes. "Do you still dance, Princess?"

"I'm afraid I don't have the time," Azula says as her eyes land on Mai. Mai tilts her head down, the closest thing to a bow she's willing to give. Azula's smile widens slightly at that, and Mai suddenly wants to get out and go home. "I'm just here to visit."

"Well, you can still look at all of these shoes, if you'd like," Ty Lee declares, setting the shoes down in a box before slowly sinking back into her kneeling position before Mai. "Maybe it's time for you to get back into dancing."

"Maybe. I'm guessing both of you dance?"

"I don't dance as well as Ty Lee," Mai blurts, then feels her ears getting warm. But she doesn't break eye contact with the princess, and doesn't let her expression shift.

"I see," says Azula. "Well, I'd have to disagree."

Mai scoffs. "You've never even seen me dance."

Azula pauses for half a second. "I know. But I can only assume that those injuries are from dancing. Am I right?"

Mai swallows, then nods.

"Yeah," Azula murmurs. "You see, a person is only good if they're _devoted._ And a person is only really devoted to something if they're willing to hurt themselves over it."

Ty Lee's fingers pause over Mai's feet for a second at that.

"It was nice coming here," the princess continues. "But I'm sorry to say I'm on a tight schedule. Nice to see you, Ty Lee."

Azula exits the store as swiftly and gracefully as she came in, and Ty Lee exhales. "Those royals really do make me nervous. Or the princess does, at least. Her brother's _gorgeous."_

Mai resists the urge to roll her eyes. Prince Zuko is the only royal she's seen in person before Azula. "He's nothing special."

"That's high praise, coming from you," Ty Lee says with a giggle.

"Royals aren't my type," Mai answers.

"Yeah? What is your type?"

Mai swallows. "I don't know." It feels like a lie, but she really doesn't have another answer.

"I know your type," Ty Lee says, finishing off the last of the bandages and rising to go through the rows of shoes.

"No, you don't," Mai drawls, leaning forward and observing the artfully draped bandages. "What do you think it is?"

"You probably want someone as gloomy and brooding as you," Ty Lee says with a laugh as she returns with a box in her hands. "I was keeping these for you since the last visit. Same as always, so I always set it out beforehand."

Mai opens the box to look at brand new black dancing shoes. "Thank you," she breathes. "How much do I—"

"Nothing. I don't want anything in return. This is a gift," Ty Lee says hastily. 

"A gift? For no reason? There's no special occasion or anything."

"I'm being _nice_ to you, Mai," she replies, putting her hands on her hips.

"You're always nice to me."

Ty Lee sighs. "Because we're _friends._ Plus it's probably annoying that you have to pay me every time for the exact same thing."

"That's how _selling things_ works."

Ty Lee huffs. "Okay. I'll rob you tonight and you can consider that payment for the shoes. Deal?"

Mai laughs. "Okay. Deal."

The door opens again, and Mai finds herself looking at her cousin.

"Hi, Ty Lee," Katara says, looking a little embarrassed, then turns to Mai. "Sorry, I didn't mean to hunt you down."

"Yeah, you did."

"Right." She looks strangely tired and a little irritated. "Are you coming back for lunch, or dinner, or..."

"I don't know," Mai answers honestly.

"Right," Katara murmurs. "Well—"

"She's coming back for lunch," Ty Lee says suddenly. "And so am I. It's been _so_ long since we all got to hang out—"

"Ty Lee, you can't just invite yourself over—"

"No, no, it's okay!" Katara says. "It's fine."

Mai sighs. "Okay. See for lunch, then, I guess."

"Yeah," Katara answers, then peers down at Mai's feet. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mai answers tersely, and to Katara's credit, she doesn't push the matter further. Instead, she offers one last smile to them both before rushing out of the store.

"She really loves you, you know," Ty Lee says, absentmindedly taking a piece of Mai's hair and braiding it. "And you love her, too."

"To some extent. That happens naturally when you live with someone you don't hate for years and years."

"You don't hate her!" Ty Lee states happily. 

Mai rolls her eyes. "She's impossible to hate."

Ty Lee laughs. "Alright, if you say so."

"Yeah. I should go. It's my turn to get food and stuff for the house this week." Mai rises to her feet then, feeling strangely unsteady. She finds herself thinking about Azula again, about her cold and blank stare, and then about the pain as she danced this morning.

"Everything alright?" Ty Lee asks.

"Yes," Mai answers, but her unease doesn't go away, even as she reaches the door and feels the sunlight on her skin again. "Everything's fine."

* * *

"Where have you been?" Zuko asks his sister.

"Just walking around," Azula answers, looking bored as they climb into their carriage that will take them back to the palace. "Have you thought about Father's request yet?"

Zuko swallows. "No. I don't want to."

"What kind of teenage boy doesn't want to be engaged?" Azula asks in an uninterested voice, examining her fingernails.

"Oh, I don't know, how about every normal one?"

"But you aren't normal. You're going to be king."

_I know you wish you were the crown princess._ "Yeah, but that won't happen for a while, Azula."

"Who cares when it happens?" she scoffs. "Father says you need a suitable bride anyway. And it's not _too_ early! Father was engaged to Mother when they were eighteen as well."

"Yeah, and Mom loved that," Zuko replies, feeling that familiar stab of sadness that he always feels whenever he mentions his mom.

"Mother was lucky," Azula mutters, crossing her arms. "She became queen."

"How about you kill me in my sleep?" Zuko asks, keeping his voice light and pleasant. "Then you can be queen, too."

"Tempting, but no, thank you. I love my big brother too much for that."

"You don't even know what love is like," Zuko snaps.

"And you do?" Azula counters. 

He leans back in his seat. "You're insane, Azula. Sick in the head."

"Someone's in a mood today," she says in an annoyingly sweet voice. "Day at the village not cool enough for you?"

"I'm wasn't the one acting like I was swimming in a pool of vermin the whole time."

Azula sits up in her seat. "Oh, were you _seriously_ looking for brides in the _village?_ You _know_ Father's going to have that ball with all the daughters from the other kingdoms and noble families—"

"Yeah, yeah. I wasn't looking for a bride there," Zuko answers hastily.

"And good thing you weren't," Azula responds contemptously. "No sense of respect or manners."

"I thought they were alright," Zuko mutters, thinking about the beautiful girl he'd accidentally bumped into earlier that morning.

His sister sighs in exasperation. "Of course you did."

Zuko finds his thoughts wandering to his mother again as they lapse into silence, once again reliving the morning he'd realized that she was gone. Father said she'd died of an _illness_ that she had been hiding from her children—Azula said that Mom had left them behind, slipping into the darkness in the middle of the night. Zuko knew that one or both of them had been lying, and he was not quite sure which scenario he'd be able to bear.

He wonders if she's still out there, somewhere. He wonders if she knows who he is, how he is, and who he'll be forced to become.


End file.
